Three Saints (Alternate Study for Chapel Windows, Caldwell House, Newport)
ca. 1886–87
Medium
Watercolor and gouache on white wove paper mounted on gray pulpboard, with cut-out "mat" of off-white laid paper
Dimensions
4 3/4 x 5 1/2 in. (12.1 x 14 cm)
Classification
Watercolor
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Susan Dwight Bliss, 1966
Accession Number
67.55.177a–c
Tags
Art Historical Context
John La Farge's *Three Saints (Alternate Study for Chapel Windows Caldwell House, Newport)* created around 1886–87, offers a glimpse into the creative process behind one of America's pioneering stained glass designs. This intimate preparatory study, measuring just 4 3/4 x 5 1/2 inches, was made for the chapel windows of Caldwell House, a Gilded Age estate in Newport, Rhode Island—a hub of opulent summer homes for the elite. La Farge, a leading figure in the American Aesthetic Movement, blended influences from Pre-Raphaelite art and Japanese techniques to evoke spiritual luminosity, perfectly s...
About the Artist
John La Farge · 1835–1910
John La Farge (1835–1910) was born into a wealthy French émigré family in New York City, the son of John Frederick La Farge and Louisa Binsse de Saint-Victor. Educated at Jesuit institutions including Mount St. Mary's College in Maryland and St. John's College (now Fordham University), he initially pursued law but turned to art after receiving early drawing lessons from his maternal grandfather, a...